Shoe construction



Jan. 30, 1951 I w, s ou 2,539,557

SHOE CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 14, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR WILLIAMB. Snzouw Patented Jan. 30, 1951 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE SHOECONSTRUCTION William B. Stroup, Indianapolis, Ind.

Application October 14, 1949, Serial No. 12137 2 3-Glaimsr I Thisinvention relates to a novel shoe construction, and more particularly toa shoe construction' having heel, shank and toe sets for reinforcing theshoe in a manner to properly support a foot in its natural position,thus providing for-greater wearing: ease, better foot support and longerlife of shoes.-

It is an object of this invention to provide a shoeof the kind: tobemore particularly described hereinafter having heel, shank and toe setsparticularly formed and positioned in a shoe to support the foot in isnatural position. A shoe last is formed for properly receiving the setsin their respective positions in the shoe and for forming a depression:in the soleof' the shoe for properly receiving the great toe of the footin its naturally-depressed relation to the other toes. Another: objectof: this; invention is to provide a shoe construction and last having adepressed great toe. portion in which the great toe may be depressed inits natural position, a heel set: in the shoe to make the counter andheel position permanent during the wearing life of the shoe, and a shankset to support the shank position and arch structure while the shoeisbeing worn.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a heel set for ashoe construction of this kind which is supported in the counter to holdthe heel against sliding inthe shoe and wearing the counter into: adistorted side bearing position. By supporting the foot against slidingin the heel of the-shoe, the foot will constantly be supported on itsupper fiat position during the life of the shoe construction.

A further object ofthis invention is to provide a shoe-supporting memberfor engagement in a shoe, the-arch-sup'portin member being fixed at oneend and sli'dably engaging in a shank set carried by the insole toprovide for the free movement' or flexing of the shoe having thebuilt-in support while still providing for the firm support of the ofthe foot when totally supported on the sole of the shoe.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in thearrangement, combinati'en' and details ofconstruction disclosed in thedrawings and specification, and then more partic' arly pointed out inthe appended claims;

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is aperspective View of a shoe last and related: shoe insoleconstructed according to an embodiment of invention;

Figure 2 is abottom' plan view of the shoe last;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the shoe illsole living heel and toesets and a shank support constructed according to this invention;

Figure 4" is a longitudinal section of a shoe of this invention ed on arelated shoe last, the last being partly broken. away and partly insecion;

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4-;i

Figured is a fragmentary detailed sect-ion taken on the line 6-45. ofFigure 4;

Figure 7- is a transverse section of the heel set removed from the shoeconstruction;

Figure 8 is at plarr view of the toe set blank removed from the shoe;

Figure 9 is a plan ViEW' of thesha'nk set before engagement in the shoe.

Referring, to the drawings, the numeral I0 designates generally ashoeconstructed according to-anembodiment of my invention. The shoe: It isparticularly designed for. containingwithinthe sole" H a toe set l2", a.heel set 14* and ashank or arch-supporting member I5. The counter i6 isof a substantially conventional construction, secured to the side edgesor periphery of the-welt-type sole; In accordance with the generalwelt-type shoe construction, a resilient inner lining or pad i? isdisposed between the inner sole I8 and outer sole l9 along the toe andshank portions of the shoe.

From aconsideration of the relative positions of the toes ofa human footwhen standing on a soft surface, as the. earth, it will be noted thatthe great toe is depressed further than: the other toes and portions ofthe foot. This is the natural position of the toes, heel and ball of thefoot, and if the foot may be supported in a shoe in the same manner, itcan-be readily seen that added foot comfort and reater shoe life will beprovided. With this in mind, it is proposed that in this shoe It, theinner sole t8.- shall be formed with adepression 26 in place toreceivethe great toe below the plane of the lower surface of the othertoes and the heel of the foot. Also; the toe set i-Z will be supportedin the toe portion of the shoe to provide a reinforcement in the shoeadjacent. the great toe depression- 213: to support the other toes at aslightly higher level.

The. toe set I 2 is formed of a suitable rigid material, as stainlesssteel, aluminum or other suitable material resistant to rust andcorrosion. The set I-E-r will be formed of a flat blank .2 formed of apair of arcuately bowed oval sections 25 and 26- having anoutwardly-extending arm 21 extendingfrom one side of one of the ovalsections, as the section 2'6, clearly shown inFigure 8 of the drawings.The oval sections will be bent to a face to face abutting position. withthearm 21 extending outwardlyperpendicular to the section 26, thenreverted for underlying the lower edges of the upstanding oval sections.The underlying arm 21 constitutes a base member for attachment to thelower side of the inner sole l8, while the bowed, arcuate, oval sectionswill define an upwardly-extending set member 28 engageable through anopening 29 in the toe portion of the inner sole l8. The set member 28will be positioned on the inner side of the great toe recess ordepression 20 on the inner side of the great toe and will protrudeslightly upwardly above the upper surface of the insole to form a sortof bearing member to hold the toe portion of a foot from slidingtransversely of the toe portion of the shoe l0. Suitable nails, notshown in the drawings, or other suitable fastening means are used forsecuring the base member 21 to the insole.

The last 30, on which the shoe I is formed, is provided with a setmember 3| on the lower side of the great toe position for forming thedepression 20 in the insole. A notch or opening 32 is formed in the last3|], adjacent the toe set member 3| for receiving the toe set member 28in the formation of the shoe. A suitable anvil or abutment plate 34 issecured on the last 39 adjacent the opening 32 for forming an abutmentto bend the nails engaged through the insole l8 for securing the toe set[2 thereto.

The heel set M is secured in the heel portion of the shoe ID forsupporting the heel of a foot against sliding in the shoe and distortingthe counter IS in the manner resulting from walking in shoes of aconventional construction. The heel set M is formed of a plate of metal35 bent into a forwardly-opening U-shape, similar to the configurationof the lower portion of the heel of the shoe H). The plate 35 isdisposed within the heel of the shoe within the counter and is formedwith an inturned marginal flange 36 on the lower edge thereof forengagement under the heel portion of the insole l8, clearly noted inFigure 3 of the drawings.

A pair of inwardly-extending tabs or arms 3! are formed on the oppositeends of the flange 36 to be secured by conventional fastening means tothe lower side of the insole l8 for securing the heel set thereon. Theflange 36 and tabs 31 are disposed between the insole and heel H of theshoe l0.

An abutment plate or anvil 38 i secured on the heel portion of the last3!] for providing an abutment to be engaged by the nails used forsecuring the heel set M to the shoe in in the construction thereof.

The arch support I is formed with an elongated bar 39 formed of metal orother suitably rigid material having a degree of resiliency for bendingwhen a force is applied to the ends thereof. The bar 39 is fixedlysecured to the under side of the insole 3 adjacent the heel H andextends forwardly under the area of the shank portion of the insole H3.The forward, lower end of the arch-supporting bar 39 is slidably engagedin a socket member 40 disposed rearwardly of the ball portion of theinsole IE on the lower side, as clearly noted in Figure 4 of thedrawings.

The socket member 49 is formed of a 'metal plate 4| bent upon itself toform a pair of overlying oval plates 42 and 44 secured together alongone transverse edge. bowed along the length thereof and spaced apartalong the edge opposite the juncture of the plates to define the socket40 open on the rear end thereof. A pair of laterally-extending tangs 45are formed on one edge of one of the plates, as

the plate 42, for penetrating engagement into the under side of theinsole 18 between the insole l8 and outer sole [9.

The forward end of the supporting bar 39 is slidably engaged in the openend of the socket member 49 to provide for the free sliding move- Theoverlying plates arev ment of the supporting bar 39 upon flexing of theshoe in the region of the arch of the shoe as effected by the normalwalking of a person wearing the shoe I0. While the free end of thesupporting bar .39 is free to slide between the insole l8 and outer soleI 9 when walking in the shoe in, the bar 39 will provide for the properand desirable rigid support of the arch of a foot when bearingdownwardly on the arch of the shoe I0.

The heel plate 38, carried by the shoe last 30, also provides anabutment for the free end of the nail engaged through the rear end ofthe archsupporting bar 39 for securing the supporting bar 39 to theinsole I8.

I do not mean to confine myself to the exact detail of constructionherein disclosed, but claim all variations falling within the purview ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a shoe, an inner sole having a toe section, a heel section and ashank section interconnecting said heel and toe sections, there being alongitudinally extending depression provided in said toe sectioncontiguous to one side thereof for the reception of the big toe of afoot, a toe set disposed adjacent to and spaced from the opposite sideof said toe section and secured thereto for holding the big toe againstdisplacement transversely of said inner sole, a heel set circumposedabout said heel section and secured thereto, and an arch supportfabricated of resilient material disposed longitudinally of andunderlying said shank section having the end contiguous to said heelsection secured thereto and having the other end thereof mounted formovement longitudinally of said inner sole.

2. In a shoe, an inner sole having a toe section, a heel section and ashank section interconnecting said heel and toe sections, there being alongitudinally extending depression provided in said toe sectioncontiguous to one side thereof for the reception of the big toe of afoot, a toe set disposed adjacent to and spaced from the opposite sideof said toe section and secured thereto for holding the big toe againstdisplacement transversely of said inner sole, a heel set circumposedabout said heel section and secured thereto, and an arch supportfabricated of resilient material disposed longitudinally of andunderlying said shank section having the end contiguous to said heelsection secured thereto and having the other end thereof mounted formovement longitudinally of said inner sole, said toe set comprising apair of arcuately bowed sections disposed in face to face abuttingrelation with respect to each other and supported longitudinally of saidinner sole.

3. In a shoe, an inner sole having a toe section, a heel section, and ashank section interconnecting said heel and toe sections, there being alongitudinally extending depression provided in said toe sectioncontiguous to one side thereof for the reception of the big toe of afoot, a toe set disposed adjacent to and spaced from the opposite sideof said toe section and secured thereto for holding the big toe againstdisplacement transversely of said inner sole, a heel set circumposedabout said heel section and secured thereto, a longitudinally disposedsocket member positioned beneath said inner sole and having its open endfacing toward said heel section, and an arch support fabricated ofresilient material disposed longitudinally of and underlying said shanksection having the end contiguous to said heel section secured theretoand having the other end thereof extending into the open end of saidfile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS socket member and slidably received and sup-Number Name Date ported therein for movement longitudinally of Re 11 967Roche Feb 11 1902 said inner Solet g I p June 9, 1903 WILLIAM STROUP- 6892,601 Lucke July 7, 1908 A 1,575,466 Tyler Mar. 2, 1926 REFERENCESCITED 1,850,977 Musebeck Mar. 22, 1932 The following references are ofrecord in the 2,227,426 Davis, Jr. Jan. 7, 1941

